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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686008">butterflies</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/haley_writes_stuff/pseuds/haley_writes_stuff'>haley_writes_stuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>MLB - Fandom, Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Has a Crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Angst, Battle, Blood, Blood and Violence, Comfort, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Hurt, I mean, Identity Reveal, MLB, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, OC villain - Freeform, One Shot, adrien is a depressed mess, but we love him none-the-less, gi magissa, if you squint theres fluff, kind of, lol not really, lots and lots of angst tbh, stressed marinette, therell be more i promies, villain</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:40:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,845</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29686008</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/haley_writes_stuff/pseuds/haley_writes_stuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>after a series of Akuma attacks, Paris's heroes are left spent and exhausted from Hawk Moth's attempts to take their miraculous. the holders of the Black Cat and the Ladybug have no time to rest as they face their hardest villain yet: Gi Magissa. Paris's heroes are knee-deep in trouble as the city is nearly destroyed. Trust is tested as secrets are revealed, leaving bonds to be formed or broken. </p><p>lol this summary is super dramatic but you get the idea</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir &amp; Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug &amp; Kwamis, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. chapter one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hey everyone! this is the first fanfiction I've ever published here on ao3 but trust me I have been lurking in the shadows for quite a while now. anyway, I co-wrote this with @whoseao3sthis and I love her sm so go check her out!! my tumblr is @haley-talks-too-much so go look at that if you want lmao its up to you. so yeah here's this mess of a fic :') hope you like it</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“...Bystanders have not been hurt, although Paris’ superheroes have not made an appearance yet…”</p><p>There was unrest among the students of Francoise Dupont High School as Adrien listened to his friends talk quietly amongst one another. Thunder rumbled in the distance as heavy, chilling rain poured down from the skies. There was a gloomy eeriness that clung to the air, a quiet that made the high schoolers feel like they were just waiting for something to shatter the silence. Grey clouds were collecting, casting the city in shadow-like darkness. </p><p>Another Akuma attack had been reported yet again. The Parisian superheroes were more than glad to help out, but it was obvious they were tiring: their moves became sloppier, their conversations shorter, and their patience thinner. </p><p>Adrien listened to the chatter exchanged between Alya and Nino, while Marinette remained quiet. She looked tired, which really wasn’t that uncommon, but her fatigue seemed to spill into all of her activities. She had less “pep in her step,” as Alya had said, and her eyes weren’t nearly as bright as they used to be. Not that he meant to pay attention to such things, of course, but it was hard to not notice. Even Chloe, who couldn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone but herself, had laid off on the harassment. Adrien chalked up his attentiveness to Marinette as nothing more than being a good, concerned friend, but as of late that excuse was becoming harder to sell, even to himself.</p><p>It started about four months ago when they came back from summer break. Everyone had gone back to school and while Adrien was physically there, he was mentally absent. Kagami had just gone abroad for school again after they’d broken things off. He would have liked to say it was a mutual breakup, but she was the one who brought it up. Kagami was wise beyond her years so when she told him that his heart wasn’t in the relationship, he knew she was right. He expected his first heartbreak to be gut-wrenching, but it wasn’t. He felt sad, sure, but not in the way that leaves you paralyzed in bed for weeks on end. At the time, he wondered why that was, but the answer was obvious: Marinette. </p><p>When he got to school, it was almost as if she could see the gloomy cloud over his head. She was there for him when no one else seemed to notice, her stuttering and fumbling hardly present in their conversation. In the beginning, he felt almost guilty for confiding in her. It would’ve been ignorant of him to believe she didn’t have problems of her own (who didn’t?), but it was a fact known by many that Marinette Dupain-Chang was one to do whatever she could to help the people she cared for. </p><p>It was then that he noticed it: the butterflies. It was like a tsunami of anxiety, excitement, and shyness all rolled into one whenever she did anything: the way her hair moved in the breeze, her clear laugh that dared him to smile, but most of all, her kindness. Marinette was one of those people that you couldn’t hate. She was that person who helped others even when no one was looking. He didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help himself when he started falling for her every move. </p><p>She didn’t know, probably never would, but she had him whipped. </p><p>The blonde was snapped back into reality when his best friend nudged him: “You coming?” Nino’s brow arched in question.</p><p>He looked across the street, where his bodyguard was waiting for him, standing by the driver’s side door of the sleek black Audi. Though it’s been the same car since Adrien was like thirteen, it still looked brand new. </p><p>“I forgot my homework,” he said to Nino, calling out to his bodyguard to repeat the same thing. With a barely discernible nod of approval from the bodyguard, Adrien turned back toward the school doors.</p><p>Adrien grumbled as he jogged away from his friend group: “Well, Nadia, Paris’ superheroes happen to have vaguely normal lives too if you weren’t aware.”</p><p>Plagg floated up from Adrien’s pant pocket and did circles around his owner’s head. “You put too much faith in humans, they don’t think about that kinda stuff. To them, you and Ladybug are untouchable.”</p><p>“Yeah, well we’re not,” he mumbled frustratedly. He pressed his palms into his eyes tiredly and took a deep breath before dropping his arms back down to his sides. </p><p>“Plagg claws out,” he muttered. </p><p>Plagg liked to think he knew his miraculous holder quite well. Despite the kwami’s demeanour and seeming distaste toward anything non-cheese related, he did have feelings. Yes, he loved cheese, but he also loved Adrien. He had spent the last two years with Adrien, and he knew something was terribly wrong with his owner. </p><p>He’d ask later. The cat-like kwami entered the ring miraculous, and with that, Adrien Agreste was gone, replaced by Chat Noir. </p><p>The leather-clad hero headed toward the disaster zone, the rain not doing anything to help his vision. He landed on a rooftop near the Akuma attack and swiftly surveyed the scene. Upon not seeing Ladybug anywhere, Chat Noir sent a quick message to Ladybug, highlighting the damage, before swooping in to hold off the Akuma.</p><p>xXx</p><p>To put it simply, Marinette was struggling. It had been the fifth Akuma attack that week and after two years of being Ladybug, her excuses were becoming weaker and weaker as time went on. Adrien’s abrupt exit was odd, but she didn’t have time to think about it as she felt the ground shake slightly. It didn’t matter how exhausted she was, she couldn’t put off her duties any longer. </p><p>“I uhm, I forgot I had a question for Miss Bustier. I’m going to go see if she’s still around and I’ll uh just stay here until Ladybug and Chat Noir get everything taken care of!” she flashed her friends a thumbs up and with that, she ran back inside the school, toward the locker room. She opened her tiny purse in order for Tikki to emerge. “This is bullshit,” she muttered to herself. </p><p>Tikki gasped in shock. “Marinette!”</p><p>“Sorry,” she mumbled half-heartedly, “You wouldn’t happen to care if I maybe just happened to not show up and let Chat handle it?” </p><p>The glare that the small kwami sent her way told her otherwise. “Something about this one tells me that you’ll need all the help you can get,” she told her owner. </p><p>Her stomach twisted with anxiety, both confusion and shock washing over her face. Tikki had never talked about the dangers of an Akuma before, which alarmed Marinette. Shit.</p><p>“Tikki, spots on.” </p><p>Ladybug swung with all her might as her trusty yoyo grabbed onto buildings and chimneys, the sounds of destruction nearing. A black blur, undoubtedly Chat, streaked the cloudy, grey sky as an akumatized villain screeched out. Her eyes skimmed over the cobblestone streets in front of her, but nothing could prepare her for the screams of terror and bloodied civilians that scattered the scene below. </p><p>Her feet had only touched down on the ground for a second when she heard him. </p><p>“Nice of you to drop in,” Chat purred, startling her. “You’re late,” he added, his voice icier than expected. </p><p>“Cry about it,” Ladybug responded coldly. </p><p>“Meowch m’lady,” he said in mock hurt. </p><p>“Sorry,” she muttered to her partner as she took him in. His blonde silky hair was plastered to his head from the pouring rain, the droplets permeating the black leather. If the suit wasn’t skin-tight before, it certainly was now. She had to tear her eyes away from the sight of him, her sensibility screaming at her to focus while her eyes wanted nothing more than to drink in every inch of him.</p><p>Literally what the fuck, she said to herself. Now was no time to pine for her partner. </p><p>The Akuma that stood before her was physically underwhelming in stature, but her clothing made up for it. The girl in front of them held herself at around 5’3 and couldn’t be more than 18, but her wicked smirk sent a chill through her spine. The girl was clad in an array of green from forest, sage, to mossy shades, the dress that adorned her body looking like that straight from greek mythology. It was made up of grand silks, almost entrancing Ladybug and Chat with the way that the fabric moved like rippling water. It was ethereal, really, but the closer she looked at it the deadlier it became. </p><p>From around the waist and shoulders, long strips of silk floated behind her like the snakes on the head of Medusa. They almost seemed to bend to her will, the fabric defying gravity. Not only were pieces of the dress floating, but so was her long dark hair. In her hand was a staff made from tree trunk like material. Resting atop her head was an obsidian black crown with spikes the length of Ladybug’s hand. </p><p>After looking around at the already distraught state of the street, their evaluation was over: she was not going to be another walk in the park.</p><p>“Shit,” Chat breathed out. It was at that moment that the villain opened her mouth to address both the heroes and bystanders. </p><p>“Citizens of Paris, I am Gi Mágissa. I am not here to compromise with your heroes. Others in the past have failed to retrieve what Hawk Moth desires, but I will not: today will be the day that you remember as the fall of Ladybug and Chat Noir.” Her voice resonated as if it was echoing off the walls. She shifted her gaze to the left, her eyes locking with the two of them. </p><p>“Give me your miraculous and I may decide to spare you and your city,” she said in a dangerously low voice. Her voice was smooth, yet it cut right through the two partners like a freezing wind in the dead of winter. Under any other circumstances, her words would be humorous, cheesy even, but this was not like anything else they faced.</p><p>Chat laughed as his trademarked smirk appeared. “Funny, because I don’t remember agreeing to that,” he said in mock thoughtfulness, almost like he was trying to recall a memory.</p><p>“Chat,” Ladybug hissed, “I’m starting to get the feeling that you won’t be able to joke your way out of this one,”</p><p>“C’mon m’lady, live a little.” </p><p>“Yeah, well I might not be alive to do so if you keep being an idiot.” Ladybug could feel the frustration rising in her as Chat continued to appear so casual and relaxed. How could he not sense that this was so much worse than before?</p><p>Chat turned to her and she could finally see his eyes. Despite his outward appearance, she saw the nervousness in his gaze. There was almost a buzz in the air, a metallic smell that made them wrinkle their noses: blood. </p><p>“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. chapter two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The two heroes dove in. Neither of them were looking forward to this, knowing the outcome would arrive, accompanied by cuts and bruises; yet Ladybug lunged toward the threat without hesitation. Within seconds of her pursuit, her path was blocked by a pillar of rock bursting from the ground. </p><p>“What the hell?” she said to herself as dust rose in billows around her. “Chat, be careful!” she shouted across the way. “She has some kind of rock manipulation.”</p><p>Chat leaped across the expanse, claws outstretched toward Gi Magissa, ready to pounce. He didn’t see it coming as a tree in the background came to life, a branch whipping out and wrapping around his ankles, effectively pulling him back. The branches stretched out fast, unpredictable like they had a mind of their own. </p><p>Suddenly, white-hot-searing pain ripped through his side like a scalding knife. Chat cried out loudly, his scream causing Ladybug to whip her head in his direction. His body went limp for a moment as the tree’s tentacle-like branches moved around him. Ladybug’s chest tightened, her thoughts muddled by blind panic.<br/>
No, no no no no, her thoughts screamed at her. She held her breath, her body frozen in time as she waited for him to shift, to move, to do anything. </p><p>“You’re nothing without your counterpart, Ladybug. You’re weak.” Gi Magissa hissed out in an almost snakelike way. Her words coiled around Ladybug and threatened to squeeze the life out of her. </p><p>The heroine knew she was trying to distract her from helping Chat, her words attempting to create hopelessness and doubt as she screamed for her partner to resurface.</p><p>“I thought she controlled rocks?” Chat exclaimed breathlessly, his body struggling against the thin bark around his ankles as he seemed to come to life. Ladybug exhaled, her lungs screaming for oxygen. She knew that she had lost precious time waiting for her partner. She couldn’t freeze like that again; she couldn’t afford to. Ladybug prided herself in rarely letting her emotions get the better of her in battle, but this had thrown her. </p><p>Get yourself together LB, you have a job to do.</p><p>It was when Ladybug swung at Gi Magissa once again and the tree went lifeless, releasing Chat Noir who let out a sharp yelp before quickly leaping to his feet, that she realized two things. </p><p>One, the villain must have the ability to manipulate the earth. But two, and this could be important, she could only control one thing at a time. If she was busy worrying about holding off Ladybug, she couldn’t worry about Chat and vice versa. </p><p>This was the opening they needed to finish this. </p><p>“Chat, let’s go with the old one-two, yeah?” she shouted at him. </p><p>There really was nothing elaborate about the ‘one-two’: it was simply Chat going in on the left and her taking the right. She knew that he would know what she meant without having to verbalize it, and they needed to get to her without voicing their plans, or she’d just be one step ahead. </p><p>Gi Magissa was fast and they both found that out the hard way. Even though it was only early on in the fight, they couldn’t afford any more slip-ups like that. Granted, they were only just figuring out her power, but Chat was already wounded, and the way he was cradling his side made her think it was worse than he let on. </p><p>They needed to hurry. At that moment, it was all or nothing. Ladybug and Chat went at her with everything they had, getting in close to her in order to avoid any surprises from far away. </p><p>Ladybug’s yoyo was virtually useless at that point due to her proximity to Magissa, so she had to rely on her hand-to-hand experience. She went at her from the right, kicking out her leg to collide with her head. She evaded the attack easily, almost as if she saw it coming from a mile away, sending a spray of knife-like stones at Ladybug. </p><p>Despite her attempts to dodge the rocks, one stray spike grazed her side. She cried out, her suit now torn as blood spilt on the sidewalk. Her body lurched back and hit the ground harshly. Though her yoyo was already thrown out in front of her, she didn’t have nearly enough time to brace herself as a sharp piece of earth hit from behind. She felt like a rag doll being thrown around from side to side with nothing for her to fall back onto as a safety net. </p><p>Her vision was going blurry, her voice too ragged to call out to her partner. Turning her head to the side, she squinted through the dust as she tried to catch a glimpse of Chat Noir. Though he was doing better than she was, her counterpart was having his own struggles. </p><p>Get up Marinette, you can do this, she told herself as she gritted her teeth. Tears of pain were streaking down the sides of her face, washing away a line of dirt from her cheeks. </p><p>She needed to get up. She had to get up. </p><p>Ladybug went for Gi Mágissa again, a vine suddenly emerging from a crack in the sidewalk. She knew he didn’t catch it slithering across the asphalt toward him until his legs were pulled out from under him. She watched helplessly as his head hit the ground once again. He felt like he was going to vomit from the throbbing of his head, nearly seeing stars in the middle of the day. </p><p>“Chat!” Ladybug screeched. Shit shit shit shit.</p><p>Despite the hit he took, her partner willed himself back up. He darted at the akumatized who, fortunately for the two heroes, didn’t register Chat’s quick approach until he had wrapped his legs around her front with his chest to her back. His one arm wrapped tightly around her neck in hopes of losing consciousness rather than something fatal. He was angry, and the energy emitting from him would have almost scared LAdybug if she didn’t know him.</p><p>Ladybug reached for the villain’s staff, made of something like tree bark, and snapped it in half over her knee. </p><p>No Akuma.</p><p>Her eyes widened in surprise, nearly screaming out of frustration. This threw her off her game completely, the building tension they had starting to ebb away. </p><p>The momentary shock of the akumaless staff had cost them, and within a second Chat was grabbed and thrown back by the same vine that tripped Ladybug.</p><p>Normally, their suits kept them from sustaining any terrible physical injuries, but this time felt different. Ladybug knew when she detransformed, the damage would only be worse, multiple bruises to tend to as soon as she arrived back home. And from his encounter with the tree, she was sure Chat’s civilian self was not going to be much better off.</p><p>It seemed like it took a hundred tries to find where this villain’s Akuma was. It wasn’t hard to tell that the akumatized victim wasn’t from Francoise Dupont High School, nor were they someone Ladybug or Cat Noir knew in their civilian form. </p><p>Ladybug called upon her lucky charm and tried to tap into her keen observation skills. It felt like years before they even located the Akuma: an unsuspecting pine-coloured fanny pack around her slim waist. </p><p>She almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation, their bruises and gashes feeling stupid after having to go through their worst battle just to take a fanny pack. </p><p>The red superhero went over to her partner, quickly informing him of her plan. It was simple and straightforward; they learned the hard way in previous battles that elaborate, flashy attacks only got them hurt. </p><p>“Cataclysm!” Chat called out, running at the earth enchantress once again.</p><p>He was careful not to touch anything, simultaneously bracing himself for the inevitable– a rock or a stone or a vine or a tree– to stop him. His cat-like gracefulness and seeming weightlessness were about to come into play if he wanted to pull this off. </p><p>Chat maneuvered around Gi, leaping into the air in an ariel to make way for Ladybug. He had completely taken Gi Mágissa’s attention when his partner leapt into action, ripping the fannypack from the akumatized’s waist.</p><p>Ladybug threw it up to Chat who was about to land. In the blink of an eye, the bag had turned to mere ashes and the unsuspecting Akuma flew out, its dark wings flapping in the rain. Ladybug swung her yo-yo, captured and released the butterfly, flinging her lucky charm in the air, undoing the damage done to Paris by Gi Mágissa.</p><p>The two heroes were breathless, stumbling back against the brick wall of a shop as they watched the victim detransform. </p><p>Their chests were heaving, the sound of laboured breaths filling one another’s ears. Chat turned his head to face Ladybug, cringing at the amount of damage that she sustained. His eyes raked over the bruise blossoming under her jaw, the scratches on her cheeks, and a particularly large cut on her temple. He was about to reach out and wipe a streak of blood from the side of her face when he saw it.</p><p>“Your earrings,” Chat noted just as the miraculous gave a loud blip. </p><p>“Who even gives a fuck?” Ladybug breathed, her words careless and tone indifferent, “I’ll be lucky if I can move.”</p><p>“Good thing your miraculous is a sign of luck Bugaboo.” </p><p>Just as the words left his lips, his ring beeped steadily. </p><p>“Shit.”</p><p>The pair of heroes gave each other a knowing look, their eyes filled with exhaustion and hints of bitterness and they made their way over to the victim.</p><p>Just as they were approaching, the de-akumatized young woman lifted her head to look at her previous rivals but present saviours. </p><p>“I’ll be- I’ll be okay.” LB and Chat gave each other a skeptical look, not believing her. Though they wanted, no, needed, to leave as fast as they could, it was their duty to follow through and make sure she was safe.</p><p>“You’re sure?” Chat asked, uncertainty laced in his tone.</p><p>“I- yeah, I need to find my mom.”</p><p>“Is there any way we can help contact her?” Ladybug questioned. Her anxiety was building in her as the beeping became even more insistent, her throat tightening in worry. The rain was still beating down hard as ever, making it increasingly harder to see the girl in front of her: it was loud, cold and relentless.</p><p>“No, it’s okay. Thank you, though.” </p><p>Ladybug gave a firm nod before swinging her yo-yo at a traffic light. She threw across the rooftops of Paris for a few short moments before she found an alley right behind a restaurant that seemed to be experiencing slow business. </p><p>She knew what she was doing was risky, de-transforming so close to the scene of their fight, but she had no choice. Anyone could see her, or walk into the alley and find out the secret she had kept to herself for so long. </p><p>Tikki’s going to kill me for this, the bluenette thought to herself. She released her yoyo from its hold on a nearby post and let her feet drop to the ground, the impact of the pavement coming into contact with her soles loud and harsh.</p><p>Before she could even catch her breath, the thump of footsteps echoed off the walls of the alley. Ladybug’s head whipped in the direction of the noise, her eyes locking with a vibrant green.</p><p>Before either could process what was happening before either of them even had time to get away from the other, the flash of red and green lit up the damp, dingy alley. Their kwamis emerged from their miraculous, tired and worn out.</p><p>The miraculous holder's jaws went slack in shock, the sight in front of the impossible. </p><p>It came out as breath, hardly even air as they said the word at the same time.</p><p> “You."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>lmaooo well this was boring I'm so sorry *scratches back of neck and laughs nervously*<br/>The next chapter is already in the works so you guys won't have to wait long (not that anyone is probably gonna read this anyway) but still! i hope you guys liked it none-the-less</p></blockquote></div></div>
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